How to make styrene wheel tubs (that hold their shape)

[futurattraction]

I laminated two separate pieces of .020" styrene sheet to make tubs that actually hold their shape really well, as can be seen in a couple of the pics. By laminating them while placed in the fixture the mating surfaces of the two separate pieces "lock in" the shape. I used styrene solvent between the two pieces before attaching them together. You can just choose the size of socket suitable to whatever you're making. Using my drill press, I drilled 1/8" holes in a piece of 1x4 so I knew the holes would be perpendicular, more or less guessing how far apart they needed to be. I used a set of cheap 1/8" carbide grinding bits to serve as posts. I wrapped tape around the tops of the interior ones so I wouldn't scratch the upper surfaces of the tubs. As seen in the third picture, the outer posts simply served as anchor points for rubber bands so the tub flats would be held securely against the socket while they set up.

Here's a set of upper and lower blanks. I scribed some inset bead roll work into the upper piece.

A pic of the fixture from one angle:

And the other side. The bottom post serves as a limiter for the socket:

Here they are, more or less in the shape in which they were fixtured...

I hope this helps somebody else.

Edited January 11, 2012 by futurattraction

[Mister Twister]

Simple and straight forward Scott...Great info!

[Mike Kucaba]

Great tutorial.Thanks for sharing.

[1320wayne]

Cool tip. I will have to try it out.

[Deathgoblin]

Excellent and timely tip. I've got one coming up I needed to tub out and this is perfect. Thanks!

[Nitro Neil]

Perfect timing, I have been trying to figure out how to make a curved piece like this for a current project. Thanks for this one.

[futurattraction]

Great! Thanks guys. I'm glad I posted it...

[Bowtienutz]

Nice Idea Scott, I'd like to see a technique used to fit the wheel tubs tight to the body.

[futurattraction]

So would I Vince... LOL

I'm reworking a Revell T/S pan for my Fairmont. I'm re-using the original tubs and covering them with a skin that will have inverted beads, similar to my pics above. Before adding the skins, I've worked on building out the tubs by using .040" strip and adding it where it needs it. Here's a pic showing how the fit is doing it that way. I'm still planning to add some up in the B-pillar area and probably a bit more around the quarter windows before reskinning it.

[Casey]

You can also scrounge around for a plastic bottle or container which is the same or close to the shape/diameter of the semi-circular shape you need. I have an empty Up & Up (Target brand) vitamin bottle which is going to be used for 1/16 scale wheel tubs eventually, but you are limited to whatever curvature the bottle already has.

[tooltas]

pill bottle are great for tubs

[Bowtienutz]

Nice and clean look there Scott.

Fitting the tub on the model is alot tougher than the real thing. the technique i use is very similiar to fitting the real thing. just not as easy because it's hard to measure and you can't crawl around inside. I attach verticle section of the wheel tub and an old business card marked every 1/8 inch then start measuring and marking the business card. trim it and test fit. when I'm satisfied I cut the plastic. works good for me. Take a look at this How real tubs are fitted. http://www.swracecars.com/Files/pdf/wheel_tub.pdf

[VW Dave]

Great tutorial, thanks for posting it.

[futurattraction]

Thanks guys. Lots of ways to do it. This is just one of them...

[BKcustoms]

Great tutorial! thanks for sharing this.

Edited January 17, 2012 by BKcustoms

[Amp3r3z]

Very cool I just used the cap for spraypaint bottle and use the inside circle. Plenty of those lying around.